Teen Titans: Nightshade
by KindgomHarths
Summary: An ancient spirit finds its way to the city, and now it's up to the Teen Titans to defeat it before it's too late! Can they vanquish this new foe in time, or have they finally met their match? New friends, new enemies, new danger. Story is part of a writing competition with Lovingtoomuchiowa.


_**Teen Titans: Nightshade**_

 _Forward:_ _The following story is an entry for the writing competition I have been invited to by Lovingtoomuchiowa. The aim of this competition is for the two of us to write a Teen Titans fanfiction under certain guidelines, and have the readers decide who wrote the better one. The rules are as follows:_

 **Both stories must have OC's based on the Fantastic Fictioners (Trevor and Matt)**

 **There must be a romantic subplot.**

 **There must be at least one action scene.**

 **The story must be unique, and not based off of pre-existing episodes or fanfictions.**

 **Only one chapter allowed, no matter the story's length.**

 _I would like to thank Lovingtoomcuhiowa for allowing me to do this in the first place. Also, I would like to thank the real life Matt and Trevor for helping me with their characters. While yes, I took some creative liberties with their personalities, it was great writing for them, and I hope that I am doing them justice. Now, enough of the intros. Here it is. Teen Titans: Nightshade…_

"Mumbo Jumbo!" cried a shrill, sour voice. The moment this cry was called out, the jewelry store at the end of the road filled with smoke. Seconds later, the smoke cleared, and a man appeared. This man was tall and wiry, and he wore a sharp looking tuxedo. He had a pointy blue nose, and eyes as white as clouds.

"Hello, there!" he called out. "The name's The Amazing Mumbo! Perhaps you've heard of me."

Everyone just stared on in awe. They dared not move.

Mumbo's face soured. "Tough crowd," he moaned. "No matter! The show must go on!" He raised his magic wand high above his head, pointing it at one of the nearby display cases. "Mumbo Jumbo!" he shouted. "Now you see the jewels…and now you don't." As soon as he said the word "don't", the jewels disappeared. Mumbo let out a sinister chuckle. "I'll bet you're wondering where they are." he said in a cheeky tone. "Do not be alarmed. This is all a part of the show." He tipped his hat, and waved his wand. Then, in the blink of an eye, the jewels appeared in the hat. Mumbo waved his wand again, and the jewels disappeared into the hat. "And now, for my next trick!" he laughed.

"Show's over, Mumbo!" a voice called out. Mumbo turned around, and was horrified at what he saw. It was the Teen Titans: Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. Mumbo gave them a sharp glare as Robin stepped forward.

"It's time for your curtain call," said Robin, his face unmoving.

"I've always hated hecklers," Mumbo moaned. "Luckily, I've come prepared!" Mumbo reached into his pocket, and grabbed a handkerchief.

"What are you going to do? Blow your nose at us?" chuckled Beast Boy.

Mumbo just laughed, as he threw the handkerchief to Starfire. She watched it slowly fall into her hands.

"I do not understand," she said, confused.

Mumbo smiled. "That, my dear lady, is the point of magic." Suddenly, the handkerchief burst, spewing forth a long chain of handkerchiefs bound together. The chain flew up, and wrapped around the Teen Titans.

"Hey! What's the big idea, here?!" shouted Cyborg.

"That's all, folks!" cried Mumbo, as he exited the store

"When I said that wanted to get closer with you all, this is not what I had in mind," cooed Starfire, trying to lighten the mood.

While the others were struggling to break free, Robin grabbed one of his birdarangs, and opened the blade. He quickly sawed the chain in two, and the Titans were free.

"Titans, go!" he shouted.

The Titans quickly ran out of the store. They found Mumbo running down the road, trying to escape. Starfire and Raven flew over, and landed right in front of him.

"Stop right there!" shouted Starfire.

"Ah-ha!" cheered Mumbo. "You want an encore performance? Let's see what I can do!"

Mumbo tipped his hat, and held it up to the girls. Just as he was about to wave his wand, Beast Boy came running over.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" he shouted. He transformed into a ram, and prepared to take Mumbo down. But just as Beast Boy got close to him, Mumbo turned around, and fired a seemingly-endless stream of stuffed rabbits at Beast Boy.

"Tah-dah!" Mumbo cheered, as Beast Boy became overtaken by the rabbits.

Raven rolled her eyes and said, "You know, the most important part of a sneak attack is to make sure that the person you're attacking doesn't see it coming."

Beast Boy got up, and glared at Raven.

"Hey, magic man!" cried Cyborg. "Try this one on for size." He raised his cannon arm, and shot a large laser in at Mumbo.

"Let's limbo!" said Mumbo, as he ducked back under the laser.

"Going somewhere?" asked Robin, stepping in front of Mumbo.

"No, but you are!" jeered Mumbo. As Mumbo was waving his wand, Robin kicked it out of his hand.

"My wand! No!" cried Mumbo. He dashed over to his lost wand, but was stopped by Raven.

"I don't think so," said Raven, crossly.

"Come on, now." Said Mumbo. "Just be a good girl, and let me through."

Angered, Raven muttered three words: " _Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos_!" As soon as she said that, the wand became surrounded with a black field of energy, and snapped in half."

"Oh no!" cried Mumbo.

A moment of silence fell upon the battlefield. Nobody made a move.

Suddenly, Cyborg broke the silence. "Hey! Your wand broke! How come you still have your powers?"

Mumbo waged his finger in Cyborg's face. "Nah-ah-ha! A magician never reveals his secrets!" he cackled, annoyingly. Cyborg angrily grabbed Mumbo's hand, but he slipped away, and began to run.

"You are not getting away again!" shouted Starfire. She flew above Mumbo, throwing starbolts down to him.

"Is that all you've got?" he laughed.

Beast Boy jumped out in front of him, and transformed into a rhinoceros. Mumbo just stood there, digging through his pocket. Out came a deflated balloon. As Beast Boy charged, Mumbo sprinted away. As he was running, he inflated the balloon, and began to fold it.

"You like animals, eh?" she called out. "Well, here's a little gift for you!" He threw his wadded up balloon at Beast Boy, and it transformed into another rhinoceros. Unmoved, Beast Boy charged right at the balloon rhinoceros, which did the same back to him. Beast Boy's horn pierced the balloon rhinoceros, then BANG! The balloon exploded, leaving a blinding flurry of multi-colored confetti!

"Dude, it's like the seventies threw up!" shouted Beast Boy.

"I cannot see through all this devious, yet admittedly pretty confetti," Starfire added.

Robin and Raven jumped out in front of Mumbo.

"Give it up, Mumbo!" shouted Robin. "It's over!"

"For you, maybe!" Mumbo replied.

Robin ran at Mumbo, throwing punch after punch at him. Mumbo took some hits, and blocked others. Raven turned to a newspaper box, and called out, " _Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos_!" The box was covered in black energy, and became lifted high over Raven's head. Seeing this, Mumbo knew that he had to think fast. He pulled a small grey ball out of his sleeve, and threw it down. There instantly became a thick cloud of fog. Raven could not see a thing, and therefore, could not aim properly.

"Don't throw it!" cried Robin, from the thick cloud of smoke.

"Wasn't planning on it," moaned Raven.

As soon as the smoke cleared, Mumbo had vanished.

"Just perfect," Raven groaned.

Mumbo was running off in the distance. He turned back, and saw nobody. He thought that he had gotten away. Unbeknownst to him, Cyborg was waiting for him in an alleyway, waiting to strike. As Mumbo was running, he became ever closer.

"Just a few streets more, then I've got him!" Cyborg thought to himself. Mumbo was almost there. Five streets away! Four streets! Three streets! He was preparing to pounce, when-BAM! Cyborg felt someone ram into him from the back, and found himself on the ground. He got up and saw who crashed into him. He was a young man, about seventeen. He had a light blue, one-piece spandex suit, with dark blue boots, gloves, cape, and helmet. The helmet had a light blue visor over the eye area, and had a gold lightning bolt on the forehead.

"Watch where you're going!" the man shouted.

"Me?! You're the one that crashed into me, man! Why don't _you_ watch where _you're_ going!?" Cyborg snapped back. Realizing that he had a momentary lapse of attention, Cyborg whipped his head around, and saw that Mumbo had escaped. "Are you kidding me?!" Cyborg growled. He turned his head back to the stranger, and said, "Thanks a lot, buddy. Now we've lost our guy."

"I don't have time for this," the man said, barely looking at Cyborg. "I have a man of my own to catch.

Just then, a voice called out, "Chaos! Chaos! Are you there?"

"I take it you're Chaos?" asked Cyborg.

"What's it to you?" asked Chaos. He stepped forward, and walked out of the alleyway. Just as he was leaving, the rest of the Titans arrived.

"What happened? Did you catch the Mumbo?" Starfire asked, excitedly.

"'Fraid not," Cyborg moaned. "Some guy came and knocked me down. So, I lost him."

"It's alright, Cyborg." Said Robin, walking closer to Cyborg. "You know Mumbo. He never leaves good enough alone. He'll be back soon. We'll get him then."

"I hope so." Said Cyborg, looking away. He looked over, and saw Chaos walking down the street. However, he wasn't alone. He was walking with a guy about his age, dressed in a sleek metallic suit. While the arms and legs were made from black spandex, the hands, feet, and torso were shimmering steel. He was wearing a helmet that resembled that of a Barbuta knight's. He was holding a slim disk, with a radar in the center.

"Hey! That's him! That's the guy!" Cyborg shouted, pointing at Chaos.

"Who are those guys?" asked Raven.

"What? Do you think I stopped and asked for their names when the one dude crashed into me?" Cyborg roared.

"Sorry I asked," moaned Raven.

Robin walked out to the sidewalk, and paused. He looked over at Chaos and his friend, then back to the team. He paused for a moment, then said, "There's only one way to find out, I guess. Come on. Let's go."

The group walked out of the alleyway, and over to the two strangers. As they approached, they heard them talking.

"Are you saying that the signal just vanished?" Chaos asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," his friend replied, tapping the radar's screen. "One second, here. The next, boop! Gone!"

"Please, never say "boop" again. It sounds stupid," Chaos said, jokingly.

"Hey you guys!" Beast Boy shouted, jumping in between the two. "Couldn't help but notice that you're new in town! Name's Beast Boy!" He then extended his hand to Paladin.

"Do you mind?" Paladin asked, staring blankly at Beast Boy.

"Clearly, he doesn't." Raven sighed.

"Come on, Paladin," said Chaos, "Don't be so rude." He then turned to the Titans. "I'm Chaos, and this here is Paladin."

"Nice to meet you," said Robin, shaking Chaos's hand. "We're the Teen Titans. I'm Robin, and this is Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg."

After a brief, awkward greeting, the conversation resumed.

"Sorry about 'throwing you off' back there," said Chaos, stepping forward. "We were in the middle of a chase."

"What kind of chase?" asked Robin.

Chaos and Paladin looked at each other, as if debating on whether or not to answer. After a brief silence, Paladin pushed a button on the radar, and showed it to the Titans. The radar on the screen was replaced with a picture of a humanoid creature. It was dressed in an ill-fitting one piece, torn up black suit. In the suit's rips and tears, bits of bloodied, mangled fleshed were visible. On its back, there were remains of what looked like a tattered red cape. Its face was the most destroyed part of all. All throughout it, there were cracks, scars, holes, and bits of dried blood. One of the eyes was pure green, with no iris, and a single, hardly visible pupil in the center. The other one was swollen, and was almost popping out of its socket. The nose was crooked, the ears had many chips in them, and the teeth were all canine teeth. Each one was either broken, or covered with rot.

"Suddenly, I feel like my appetite has left me," squeaked Starfire.

"This is Phantasmo," Paladin said, as if he didn't hear Starfire's comment. "We've been chasing him around the country for years, hoping to put a stop to his little plans."

"We've tracked him down to this city," Chaos added. "That's why we were out here today, and that's why I was so intent on getting away from Cyborg, here."

Upon hearing this, Raven's eyes shot open. "Phantasmo?" she asked, curiously. "Isn't he just a myth?"

"I wish he was," sighed Chaos. "He's been terrorizing this nation for years, taking advantage of those too weak to fight back, and those too ignorant of his true intentions."

"Have you actually seen him?" asked Raven.

"Many times," said Paladin.

"And we've had many close calls, at that," Chaos added.

"Who's Phantasmo?" asked Cyborg.

"I'll explain later," sighed Raven, not looking back at him.

"We should probably get back to looking," said Paladin. "We'll see you around."

Paladin and Chaos turned to leave. After a few steps, Chaos looked back and said, "Don't be strangers. Alright?"

"We will most certainly not!" cried Starfire. "Farewell, and good luck to you on your search!"

Chaos and Paladin walked away, continuing to watch the radar intensely.

"I think we'd better head back too," Robin sighed. "When Mumbo shows his face here again, we need to be ready and rested."

The Teen Titans walked over to the T-Car, which was parked behind the jewelry store that Mumbo had robbed.

The ride home was quiet. For a while, nobody spoke a word. Then, out of nowhere, Beast Boy cried out, "Hey? You know what? Meeting those guys was almost like one of those cringy fanfictions where the new heroes meet up with the old ones, and they become best buds, and beat the enemy together! Know what I mean?"

"Beast Boy, don't be ridiculous," Cyborg laughed. "We're not best buds with those guys. We barely even know them!"

"Well, not yet! Give it time!" said Beast Boy, desperately trying to save his point. He then turned to Raven, and continued. "You know, Raven, if this _were_ a fanfiction, you'd probably be thrown into a sweet hookup. Either of those two guys catch your eye?"

Raven didn't look over at Beast Boy. She simply put her hand on his face, and pushed him away.

When they got back to the Tower, Robin ran right to the computer, and began looking for Mumbo.

"What was that about being ready and rested, again?" Beast Boy jeered.

"I'm resting while looking," said Robin.

"Please, Robin," urged Starfire, as she put her arm around Robin. "You've worked hard. You need to rest up for the next battle with the Mumbo. It is the only way we can be ready."

"I…I…" Robin stammered.

"Please?" asked Starfire, looking into Robin's eyes.

Robin took a deep breath, then finally relented. "Alright. I guess I can take a rest. Just for a little bit."

"Hey, man!" beamed Cyborg. "I know something that can help us relax, and learn about criminals! We can listen to the story of that Phantasm-whatever guy!"

Starfire quickly whipped her head towards Raven. "Oh, yes! Please do!" she cheered.

"I suppose," said Raven. She went into her room, and returned, carrying an old, tattered book. "I thought this was just a legend. But I guess I was wrong."

"First time I've ever heard that," Beast Boy laughed. He looked over to see Raven giving him a dirty look. "I'll be quiet," he squeaked.

"Let's begin," scoffed Raven, as she opened the book. She signaled for the others to gather around, and began telling the story. "Back in 1874, in a small, Pennsylvanian town, there was a young man named Hiram Crowe. Hiram was pretty down on his luck. All he had to his name was a couple of dollars, his dilapidated Taylor business, and of course, his fiancé. The two of them were madly in love, and never spent a day away from each other. She made him the happiest that he had ever been."

"Aww! That's so sweet!" squealed Starfire.

"That's not the end of the story, Starfire," Raven explained.

"Oh. Alright," said Starfire, slightly embarrassed.

Raven turned back to the book, and continued the story. "On the eve of their wedding, she became very sick. No matter what the doctors tried, they could not do anything to save her. With no other alternative, Hiram made a deal with The Devil. If The Devil would spare his love's life, Hiram would give him his soul. Within minutes, The Devil acted on his part of the deal, and his fiancé was cured. A few days later, though, The Devil came back to make Hiram act his part of the deal, and give him his soul much earlier than when they had agreed upon. Desperate to stay alive, a new deal was reached: Hiram would make deals with other mortals on The Devil's behalf, taking their souls in exchange for giving them worldly pleasures. To help make this happen, The Devil gave him some of his power to make the magic happen, so to speak. However, this power would only work during a deal, and only to enact either end of the deal. Sure enough, this worked. He was able to harvest dozens of souls, and ended up profiting strongly from it. As time went on, he began to focus less on fulfilling his contract with The Devil, and more on the material possessions that he would get. Instead of taking their souls, he would take their land, or their wealth. This went on for years, and slowly but surely, the old Hiram was essentially dead. So much so, that he began to not see his now-wife for days and weeks on end.

"What happened next?" Starfire asked, leaning so close to the book, that she was almost eclipsing Raven's view of it.

Raven ignored this, and carried on. "When she tried to confront him, and express her worry, he beat her to death. When coming up to claim her soul, The Devil scolded Hiram for becoming greedy and arrogant, and demanded to have his powers back. When Hiram refused, the two battled it out. It ended with Hiram becoming horribly disfigured, and only half alive. He is semi-corporeal, being that he can tough others, but they cannot touch him. His powers, both immortality and deal-fulfillment, were retained and untouched in the slightest. Yet, physically, he is barely able to hold himself together, due to his extensive battle damage. After fleeing from the battle, Hiram vowed to do whatever he could to restore himself to his former glory. Taking the name 'Phantasmo', he now roams the earth, looking for people to make deals with. He preys on those who are troubled, whether it be physically, or mentally. When he finds them, he offers them the same fading pleasures, in exchange for a body. Because once he has a body, he will be able to resume making deals, ruining lives, and helping himself move up in the world once again."

"All this really happened?" Robin asked, stroking his chin.

"I suppose so," Raven replied. "Unless, of course, those guys we met were just lying."

"Why would they lie about something like that?" asked Starfire.

"Um…HE-LO!" cried Beast Boy, flailing his arms wildly. "Why would anyone claim to make have seen some kind of mythical creature? The same reasons as those guys who say they saw Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, or Bill Waterson! They do it to appear on the local news, and get around the clock coverage of what they've found! They make connections, meet the right people, and rub the right elbows. But then, it all comes crashing down when it's revealed that the whole thing was a hoax! Then, their fame and glory is replaced with regret and empty bottles of root beer."

Cyborg walked over to Beast Boy, and put his hand on his shoulder. He leaned in close, then said, "Calm down there, BB. You're starting to sound like a supermarket tabloid."

"Besides, those guys seem to have it under control," Robin added. "But if he really is in the city, those guys had better expect some help."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. That night, everyone was in their beds, fast asleep. Then suddenly, the alarm went off!

Robin shot up out of his bed. "Trouble!" he thought to himself. He suited up, and ran into the main room, to see everyone else waiting for him.

"How did you guys get ready so fast?" Robin asked.

"That's what you're going to worry about right now?" Raven replied.

Cyborg turned to the computer, then said, "Well, Robin, looks like we're going to get our second chance with Mumbo sooner than we thought. He's been spotted downtown."

"Then there's not a moment to lose!" Robin roared. "Let's go get him, before he starts his encore performance!"

As the team ran out, Beast Boy turned to Raven. "Hey, Raven?" he jeered.

Raven, knowing that he was setting up for a joke, took a deep breath, then responded. "What is it, Beast Boy?" she growled.

"You looking forward to having another run in with those two guys?" Beast Boy replied, trying to suppress laughter. Raven kept moving, as if she didn't even hear him.

In the same alleyway that Cyborg had encountered chaos for the first time, Mumbo was hiding, planning his next scheme. What should he do next? Rob a bank? To predictable. Hold up a bus? Too risky? Many ideas were rushing through his head. However, they all came to screeching halt when he noticed something. There was something wrong in the air. It was as if all joy and hope had been sucked out by a giant vacuum, and in its place was fear and dread. He looked down, and saw the weeds growing from the cracks in the siding were wilting, and turning brown.

"Ooh. I don't like this at all," Mumbo muttered to himself. Just then, an absolutely rancid smell permeated the surrounding area. It was a smell of blood, and rotting flesh. Mumbo looked around, hoping to find the cause of these strange occurrences. "Who's there? Show yourself!" he demanded. He turned around, saw that someone was walking through the wall. It was Phantasmo.

"Ah, there you are!" cried Phantasmo in a shrill, ghostly voice. "I've been looking for you."

"Oh? Have you now?" asked Mumbo, turning away nervously.

Seeing that Mumbo was trying to avoid him, Phantasmo jumped right in from of him. "Tell me," he beamed. "How are you enjoying your eternal and unbreakable magic?"

"Oh, it's just fine!" Mumbo squeaked, trying to mask his fear. "Thank you very much." Then, in a moment of panic, he blurted out, "Well, it's been nice, buddy, but I've got to go! I'm wanted onstage." He turned to run, but felt Phtansmo's boney, scaly-feeling hand grab his shoulder."

"Just a moment," Phantasmo sneered. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"I don't believe so," Mumbo chuckled, nervously.

Phantasmo leaned closer. "It's time you hold up your end of the bargain," he said, his voice growing more intense. "I need your body, and I need it now!"

"No! Not yet! I'm not through with it yet!" Mumbo shrieked. "I haven't even really got to enjoy my new unlimited magic yet!"

"Are you trying to back out of the deal?" growled Phantasmo, now beginning to squeeze Mumbo's shoulder.

"Just give me a little more time" begged Mumbo.

Before he could continue, Phantasmo thrusted Mumbo against the wall. "I won't have another deal fall through!" he roared. "I need a body, and I need one now! You owe me, old man!" Phantasmo took a deep breath, then calmed his voice. "Come on, now," he cooed, trying to lighten the mood. "Help me feel alive again. Just surrender yourself to me." As he was talking, the Teen Titans jumped down, and landed into the alley. Phantasmo and Mumbo looked over at them. Mumbo was ecstatic, while Phantasmo had not reaction.

"You know, if people heard you saying that, you'd get some strange looks," Beast Boy chuckled.

"Nice one," whispered Cyborg.

"Ah! I'm saved!" cried Mumbo.

"Don't count on it," growled Phantasmo. He released Mumbo, and inched closer to the Titans. "This does not concern you," he howled.

"Everything in this town concerns us," Robin retorted. "And you're no different."

"Very well, then," Phantasmo chuckled. "What exactly are you five planning on doing about that?"

"I wouldn't imagine they could do very much, given that they don't know much about you," a voice called out. Everyone turned to look, and saw that the voice belonged to Paladin. He was standing at the entrance, with Chaos at his side.

"Remember us?" sneered Chaos.

Phantasmo gave a slight shudder then croaked out, "All too well. Well, you gentlemen know the game by now. But eight against one doesn't seem like a fair fight. Allow me to even the score." Phantasmo then looked down to Mumbo, who began to slowly back away.

"Me? No! I'm not against you! I just want different terms to our deal! We're really on the same page, here!" babbled Mumbo. Phantasmo snapped his fingers, and there was a loud buzzing sound. Within seconds, Mumbo fell to the ground, screaming and clutching his chest. His skin began to heat up, and even emit steam. Chaos, Paladin, and the Titans stepped back. Though they wanted to help, there was nothing they could do. They had no choice but to just watch. Eventually, the steam completely engulfed Mumbo. When he emerged, his skin was not blue, but pale white. His tuxedo and hat had disappeared, and were replaced by an ill-fitting V-neck shirt, and baggy cargo pants.

"Mumbo?" asked Starfire, visibly concerned.

"Not Mumbo. Not anymore," he replied. "Now, I'm just Irving. Irving Wells."

"Dude, that's your real name? Seriously?" asked Beast Boy.

"I just saw my whole life flash before my eyes," Irving gasped. "All the wasted years. My, does it sting."

Phantasmo let out a sinister sounding chuckle. "You should consider yourself lucky," he barked. "I don't normally go so easy on those who don't keep their word." He leaned close to Irving, "Yes, I normally like to sit back and watch them scream. Scream until blood comes leaking out of their mouths. Meanwhile, the rest of their bodies are writhing in pain. Accumulating many rips and tears in their flesh. Their pleas for mercy bring a smile to my face…"

"Stop! Stop! No more!" cried Irving.

"Perhaps next time, you will know better," Phantasmo smiled.

"You leave him alone!" shouted Starfire.

"Why don't you just mind your own business?" hollered Phantasmo, not looking back.

"Because you _are_ our business, Phantasmo!" Chaos boomed.

Phantasmo slowly turned around to face his challengers. "Very well," he sighed. "No use delaying the inevitable. Let's see how these new faces enjoy our little game." Then, in the blink of an eye, Phantasmo disappeared! Gone without a trace!

"Where did he go?!" shouted Cyborg.

"This is just one of his tricks!" Chaos answered.

"He's still around here!" Paladin added. "He's just hiding. That coward!"

Robin clenched his fist, then said, "We'd better get moving, then! Everyone, fan out! We've got to find that demon!"

"Wait!" shouted Paladin. "If we're going to look for him, we can't do it alone. If there's someone with you, he'll have a harder time getting into our heads."

"I guess so," said Robin.

"Can I join you guys?!" asked Irving. "He's probably going to target me. And without my magic, I'm completely defenseless!"

"Fine," scoffed Robin. "Beast Boy, go with him."

"Oh, come on!" whined Beast Boy.

"Thanks for that, kid," growled Irving.

"I'm not the best one for this kind of work!" Beast Boy protested. "Raven is best with working with creepy things."

"Excuse me?' asked Raven.

Beast Boy smiled nervously, then said, "You know, because you're…the same?"

Raven took a deep breath, and was about to say something, but was cut off by Starfire.

"Friends, please! This is wasting time!" cried Starfire.

"Star's right, y'all! Let's go get him!" shouted Cyborg. He and Paladin ran out of the alleyway. Shortly after, Robin and Starfire followed.

"Come on Irving, let's go," murmured Beast Boy.

"I'm so touched by your hospitability," Irving grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Just get moving," sighed Beast Boy. He grabbed Irving's hand, and rushed him out of the alleyway. Then, there were just Raven and Chaos.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going," said Chaos.

"I guess so," replied Raven. The two left the alleyway, and began searching for Phantasmo. They roamed around the city, but could not find him.

"We've been looking for a half hour, and we've still got no sight of him," Raven complained.

"If you want to speed things along, there are a few things that can lure him," answered Chaos.

"I think I remember reading something about that in the book," Raven noted. "If I remember right, he is drawn to negative emotions. You know, something like sorrow, shame, or fear."

"That's right," said Chaos. "Those draws would probably make him a good divorce lawyer."

Much to his surprise, Raven let out a chuckle. Seconds later, she caught herself, and quickly looked away.

"Alright, then," said Chaos, trying to ease the mood. "Of course, it's hard to pull genuine negativity out of thin air. Well, unless you happen to have any of that on you."

"More or less," Raven muttered.

"What was that?" asked Chaos.

"I didn't say anything," sighed Raven.

Chaos stopped walking, and turned to Raven. "I just thought I heard…"

"Just drop it," Raven demanded.

"I'm sorry," said Chaos. "I think I may have struck a nerve, there."

"It's fine," Raven shuddered. "I'm used to it."

"Used to it?" asked Chaos. Raven kept walking, trying to ignore Chaos. Without thinking, he blurted out, "Everything ok with the others?"

Before he could retract his statement, Raven tuned to him, and answered. "I don't know." With that, she kept walking.

"Look,' Chaos continued, "Maybe it's none of my business. Maybe I'm intruding a little. I just want to help."

"Why?" asked Raven, not looking back.

"I don't know," Chaos huffed, slightly nervously. "I just want to help, I guess. I saw your little tiff with Beast Boy."

Raven took a deep breath, then began. "I'm kind of different from the others. I like to be by myself sometimes, and I'm not the sunniest person around. A lot of people just think that I'm…creepy."

"Well," Chaos stammered, "For what it's worth, I don't think you're creepy."

"Thanks," Raven smiled.

"For what it's worth," Chaos continued, "I didn't really fit in back at home, either."

"You didn't?" asked Raven.

"Not really," Chaos answered. "I didn't really know who I was back then. I was trying to find where I belonged. I kept trying so hard to fit in with everyone that I didn't really fit in with anybody. Once I finally got a grip on who I was, we got caught up in chasing Phantasmo. Just my luck."

"That's rough," said Raven.

"I guess so," Chaos replied. "On the plus side, I always wanted to be a ghostbuster when I was little. So, I guess that I kind of got my dream come true. Except, instead of Peter Venkman, I'm a guy running around in skin-tight pajamas."

Raven let out another laugh, but this time, did not try to cover it up. "You know, you're pretty funny," she cooed.

"Thank you," smiled Chaos.

Meanwhile, Cyborg and Paladin were also searching for Phantasmo.

"Any reading on that radar thing?" asked Cyborg, somewhat impatiently.

"Nothing," said Paladin. "I guess that reading we got a few minutes ago was just a glitch."

"Figures," Cyborg huffed. The two walked in silence for a few more minutes, then Cyborg asked, "If we find this guy, what can we do? He's a ghost. It's not like we can just blast him."

"I know," shuddered Paladin. "When I find him, I would love to have shown him this." Paladin reached for his belt, and unhooked a sword handle. It was gold, and had a red switch on the blade. Paladin pushed the switch, and a longsword blade shot right out of the handle. Paladin held his sword tightly with both hands, and held the handle close to his chest. "But I can't," he continued. "It just wouldn't work. No matter how much I want to defend the honor of those around me."

"Uh-huh," nodded Cyborg, feeling slightly suspicious. "So, why is it that you guys are searching for this guy to begin with?"

Paladin's face grew furtive and uncomfortable. But before he could say anything, they heard Phantasmo call out. "Are you gentlemen looking for someone?" The two turned around and saw Phantasmo steadily walking right over to them.

"Just some soulless conman," Cyborg smiled.

"You got me there," Phantasmo smirked. "But enough about me. What about you? What can I get for you gentlemen?"

"Don't even try," Paladin said sternly. "We know your game. There's no way we're going to make a deal with you."

Phantasmo looked over, and saw Raven and Chaos taking to each other. He looked back at Cyborg and Paladin, and gave them a rotten, toothy grin. "Maybe not you," he taunted. "But I think I know who will." With that, he completely vanished. Gone, without a trace.

"What the?!" cried Cyborg.

"We almost had him," groaned Paladin.

"It's alright, man. We're going to get him soon," Cyborg assured him, putting his hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and saw Raven and Chaos. "Hey, yo!" he shouted. "Mind picking up the pace?"

Raven and Chaos looked over, and ran over to Cyborg and Paladin. Seconds later, Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Irvin joined the group as well.

"Any luck?" asked Robin.

"If by luck, you mean listening to an old man whine about his personal life? Then yes. I did get some luck," growled Beast Boy.

"I'm sorry!" cried Irving. "I just opened a gate! I can't just close it!"

"Dude," Beast Boy replied. "I will personally pay for a new lock for that gate if you'd _just_ knock it off! Enough is enough!"

"We found him," said Paladin. "But he slipped away soon after. I'm sorry. I tried my best."

" _We_ tried our best," Cyborg stated.

"That's alright," Robbin assured him. "That happens. The important thing is that we don't let that throw us off, and we get right back on to finding him."

"I think he may have already taken off," Cyborg noted.

"We can still get back to looking when we get back to Titans Tower," said Robin. "We can run some scans on the computer."

"Sounds good!" shouted Paladin. "He won't know what hit him!"

"Hold on there, Spartacus," Chaos leered. "I think they mean just their team."

"You can join, if you want," said Robin.

'Really?" asked Paladin.

"Of course," said Robin. "Consider yourself honorary members of the Titans. That is, until we can find Phantasmo. We'll see from there."

"We're in!" said Chaos, shaking Robin's hand.

"Oh good." Raven smiled. Everyone looked at Raven, and she realized what she had said. Desperately trying to cover up, she blurted out, "I mean, we need to catch Phantasmo. We need all the help we can get. Right?"

"What about me?" Irving interrupted. "Can I join too?"

"Well, Mr. Irving," Starfire squeaked. "I do not mean to be rude, but I feel that I must inform you that a man of your age would not qualify for the _Teen_ Titans."

"Oh come on! I could be useful!" cried Irving. "Besides, all I've got to defend myself are these smoke bombs! And they don't even work right! They don't blow until about a minute after they're activated! What if that ghost man comes back? I'm a goner!"

"I hope you know that both of those things you said are complete contradictory," said Raven.

"You'll be fine. You can take care of yourself," said Robin, not looking back. "Alright, everyone. Let's head back."

As the Titans, Chaos, and Paladin began to leave, Irving reached into his pocket, and pulled out his remaining smoke bombs. "Without my magic, what am I?" he thought to himself.

The next day morning, Raven walked into the main room. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Robin and Paladin at the computer. The floor was littered with papers, covered in graphs and schematics.

"I won't even ask," Raven muttered to herself. She walked into the kitchen, where Starfire and Chaos were making breakfast.

"Good morning, Raven!" shouted Starfire. "We have prepared a breakfast of unborn chickens and burnt wheat slabs!"

"She means eggs and toast," chuckled Chaos.

"I'm not hungry," said Raven. She walked over to the stove, and made herself a cup of herbal tea. All the while, Robin and Paladin were throwing ideas back and forth.

"Does he only come out at night?" asked Robin.

"Yes," Paladin answered. "So if we went back out tonight, and used what we know to lure him out, I think we can get him."

"We'll need to know how to fight him once we get him," Robin added. "Any ideas on that?"

"Sadly, we've never gotten that far," sighed Paladin. "I do know one thing, though. The only thing he fears is death," Chaos continued. "Not just his own, but all death in general. If he is around any kind of death, the devil will find him, and bring him back to the underworld."

"That's fascinating," said Robin. "But the Teen Titans aren't about killing our enemies. Even if they are the spawn of Satan".

"I know," Paladin huffed. "Not like we'd even get to that point. Every time, I come so close. Then, I fail."

"Don't beat yourself up," Robin said. "That's just what he wants."

"He's already taken enough from me," growled Paladin, not looking up. "He might as well take my pride." Robin raised an eyebrow. "It's fine," Paladin said. "I'm just being a little dramatic."

"Do you think you can be a little dramatic a _lot_ quieter?" asked Raven, scowling at the boys. "You're giving me a headache."

Before either of them could respond, Beast Boy and Cyborg burst through the door.

"Hey, guys!" shouted Beast Boy. "We've created a new game! It's called Stank-Ball!" Everyone stared blankly at the two.

"We made the ball by wadding up a bunch of BB's filthy laundry!" added Cyborg. "Anyone want to play?"

"I couldn't imagine anything I would want less," replied Raven.

"I'll pass too," sighed Chaos.

"Come on, y'all! It'll be fun!" cheered Cyborg.

"Yeah! Don't be squares!" shouted Beast Boy. He turned to Raven, then cried, "Think fast, Raven!" He threw the wad of clothes at Raven, and it hit her right in the face. This caused her to drop her cup of tea, and the cup shattered into several tiny fragments. Everyone looked on at Raven, wondering what she was going to do in response. She scowled, took a deep breath, and quickly walked out of the room."

"Whoops," said Beast Boy, wringing his hands uncomfortably. "I think we may have messed up."

"We?" scowled Cyborg.

"I'll go check on her," said Chaos, as he rushed out of the room.

"What was that all about?" asked Cyborg. Starfire tilted her head curiously. She was wondering the same thing. As she was turning to leave, she looked over, and saw Robin and Paladin getting back to work.

"I really wish you two would take a break. You have been working for many hours," she said.

"We can't stop now," Paladin replied. "Not when we're so close to finding the perfect plan."

"We appreciate the concern, Starfire," Robin smiled. "Don't worry, we can take care of ourselves."

"I just want to make sure," said Starfire. With that, she left the room. As soon as she did, Robin and Paladin went right back to work.

Chaos was walking through the hall, looking for Raven. As he was walking down, he noticed Raven's room. He took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"Go away," ordered Raven.

"I just want to see if you're ok," Chaos explained. Moments later, Raven opened her door.

"I'm fine," she said.

"You don't sound fine," Chaos noted.

Raven sighed, then explained, "Sometimes, these guys drive me insane."

"I can see where you're coming from," Chaos smiled. "They seem pretty overwhelming."

"You have no idea," Raven said, beginning to smile. The two looked at each other, smiling, and hardly blinking. After a few seconds, they snapped out of their trances, and tried to compose themselves. "So, why are you here?"

"I just wanted to check up on you," Chaos said. "And I wanted to see if you wanted to…I don't' know…talk."

Raven looked at him, intrigued. "Really?" she asked. "Alright. Come on in." She showed Chaos into her room. He looked around, and was taken aback by the dark walls, and gothic décor. "Something wrong?" Raven asked him.

"I'm just not used to this kind of interior designing," Chaos answered.

"Anything you wanted to talk about, specifically?" questioned Raven.

"Nothing in particular," Chaos replied. "I guess you could just tell me about your experiences here, or something."

The two of them spent the next few hours talking to each other. Raven told Chaos about her dynamic with the group, and how she often feels out of place. While she did so, he listened, and gave her words of support. In turn, when he told her stories about his past, she listened intently. Before long, the two had completely lost track of time.

"I'm not saying that man was weak," Chaos began, "But I think that it's no exaggeration to say that your bonsai tree there could beat him! When your superhero name is 'Ouch', you're just begging for trouble."

Raven let out a hardy laugh, which surprised even herself.

"I'm glad you like my jokes!" Chaos exclaimed. "It's about time someone did!"

"Not too many people do?" Raven wondered.

"Not sure," Chaos shrugged. "But I am fond of the acknowledgement."

"Don't worry," Raven said. "They're good. Much better than Beast Boy's, at least."

"That means a lot, coming from you," beamed Chaos.

Raven looked away, her cheeks turning red. She glanced up at the clock, and noticed the time. "Look at the time," she said.

"We've been going at this for hours?" marveled Chaos. "My, how time flies. Sorry that I ate up so much of your day."

"No, no. Don't worry," Raven smiled. "I really enjoyed our talk."

Chaos stepped out of the room, and walked back into the main room. Raven poked her head out of her room, and watched Chaos leave. She was smiling from ear to ear, but was completely unaware.

Then, out of nowhere, she heard a loud shriek. " _AY-EEEEEEEEE_!" Raven turned around, and saw Starfire inches behind her. "I don't believe it! _Ooooh_! My heart has the splifnards for you, Raven!"

"I couldn't be less clear on what you're talking about," moaned Raven.

"I promise you, I did not try to eavesdrop," said Starfire, trying to suppress her excitement. "But I could not help but overhear much of your conversations with Chaos. That, and the way you were just looking at him…"

"Don't say it!" Raven demanded.

"You have affection for him, don't you?!" Starfire squealed.

"I told you not to say it," growled Raven.

"There is nothing wrong with it, Raven," said Starfire. "Personally, I find it adorable."

"You shouldn't find it anything," Raven snapped. "I like him as a friend, that's all."

"I do not think so," Starfire smiled.

Back in the main room, Chaos walked in to see Robin on the couch, watching TV. Meanwhile, Paladin was browsing the computer, and looking through many sheets of schematics. "Is he still working?" Chaos asked.

"The guy's got drive," Robin chuckled.

Chaos walked over to Paladin, and whispered, "Maybe it's time you take a break."

"A break?" Paladin scoffed. "We can't afford to take a break."

"You need it," Chaos explained. "You've been pushing yourself hard enough today."

"I think you already took my break for me," Paladin responded. "I know you were with Raven."

Chaos's face turned a light shade of red. "Can you blame me?" he smiled, awkwardly.

"Ah, love," Paladin chuckled. "Distracting, but nice."

"Don't be so down, Paladin," said Chaos. "Why can't you just sit back and enjoy the chase a little. Yeah, I want Phantasmo gone too. But getting so worked up over everything is only going to bring hardship."

"You mean to tell me that you enjoyed leaving everything behind, and running around the world for an animate puff of air?" Paladin asked, sarcastically.

"Well, I didn't enjoy New Jersey," Chaos answered. "But the point still stands."

Suddenly, red lights flashed, and a siren rang. Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven ran into the main room, joining up with the others.

"What is going on?" asked Starfire.

"We've got trouble!" shouted Robin. "Looks like Control Freak is up to his old tricks again!"

"Control Freak?!" cried Cyborg. "First a magician who never breaks character, then a demon-ghost that steals bodies with crooked deals, and now a fat, whiney nerd with a TV obsession. Man, what a weird week this has been."

"No kidding," Beast Boy remarked.

"Let's go!" Robin exclaimed.

"Wait! What about looking for Phantasmo?" asked Paladin.

"I think this is a bit more important right now, Paladin," explained Chaos.

"Have you lost sight of the mission?" asked Paladin. In response, Chaos grabbed his hand, and dragged him out of the room.

Down in the city, Control Freak was standing on a street corner. He wasn't attacking anyone. He wasn't stealing anything. He simply stood perfectly still, humming the theme songs to his favorite shows.

"We hate to interrupt your broadcast, Control Freak," Robin called out. "But we have an important word from our sponsor." Robin leaped over to Control Freak, with the other Titans following suit.

"Nice pun," Beast Boy beamed, giving Robin a thumbs-up.

"Thanks," Robin chuckled.

"Why are we here?" Paladin asked impatiently. "We have other work to do. Besides, he's just standing here."

"We wouldn't have been called down here for nothing," Robin noted. "He has to be up to something."

Control Freak gave a loud, snorting laugh. "Foolish Titans!" he bellowed. "I'm not doing anything. But _they_ are!"

"Who's they?" asked Chaos.

"Here comes your answer!" Control Freak smiled. He pointed over to another street, and pushed a button on his remote control. Seconds later, a giant tyrannosaurus rex came barreling down the road.

"No way!" cried Cyborg.

"Way!" replied Control Freak. "You've fallen right into my trap! I knew you wouldn't resist the urge to kick my butt! But don't go away, folks! Stay tuned! I've got more!" He pushed a few more buttons on his remote, his smile getting wider with each progressive one. Just then, several blue vortexes appeared on the ground, and several television and movie villains climbed out.

"Oh no!" Beast Boy shouted. "Skeleman from He-Guy! Slayron from the Lord of the Rugs Trilogy! The Exterminator from…The Exterminator! And Anderson Cooper from CNN!"

"I'm not a villain," whined Anderson Cooper.

"You be quiet!" barked Control Freak.

"Yes sir," whimpered Anderson Cooper, hanging his head.

"I take it you brought some friends from TV land?" asked Robin.

"I sure have!" Control Freak answered.

Chaos leaned close to Cyborg, and whispered, "Does he do this regularly?"

"No," he responded. "And that's what makes this worse."

Control Freak turned, and got behind his row of villains. "Well, Titans," he sneered. I hope you enjoy the show. It'll be the last thing you ever see! Go get 'em, boys!" Control Freak snapped his fingers, and the villains charged at the Teen Titans.

"Titans, go!" shouted Robin. With that, the heroes dispersed, each fighting their own foe. Beast Boy with the tyrannosaurus rex, Robin and Starfire with The Exterminator, Paladin with Slayron, Cyborg with Anderson Cooper, and Raven and Chaos with Skeleman.

"This will be fun!" shouted Control Freak. "Good thing I brought my popcorn!" Control Freak then sat down, and pulled a large plastic bag full of popcorn out of his trench coat, and began to snack on it.

Starfire looked over at Control Freak, and said, "He is a very strange man."

"Starfire! Behind you!" Robin shouted. Starfire turned around, and saw The Exterminator aiming his gun. Robin dove in, and kicked the gun out of his hand. Enraged, The Exterminator tackled Robin, and the two began to struggle. Slowly, but surely, The Exterminator was beginning to overpower Robin.

"You get off of him!" shouted Starfire. She created two starbolts, and sent them flying at The Exterminator. They hit, and blasted him off of Robin.

"Thanks," Robin grinned.

"Any time," Starfire replied.

Beast Boy stepped up to the tyrannosaurus rex, and called out, "You want a fight, huh? Well, why don't you pick on someone your own size…and species?!" With that, Beast Boy turned into a tyrannosaurus rex himself, and proceeded to battle it out with the other. Beast Boy would bite, and so would the tyrannosaurus. The Tyrannosaurus would whip its tail, and so would Beast Boy. The two were at a stalemate, until Beast Boy had an idea. "Maybe I don't need to fight fire with fire," he though. "Maybe I can play a little dirty." Beast Boy transformed into an eagle, and flew high above his opponent. When he was at a decent distance, he transformed into an elephant, and fell down onto the tyrannosaurus. The sudden impact, combined with the weight of the blow, knocked the tyrannosaurus out cold.

Paladin and Slayron were circling each other, staring intently in the other's eyes.

"Care to make the first move?" taunted Paladin.

"I have one rug to rule them all! You shall know my strength, young squire!" shouted Slayron.

"Who writes this stuff?" muttered Paladin. Slayron unsheathed his sword, and began running at Paladin. Paladin, in turn, grabbed his sword handle, activated the blade, and blocked the attack.

"There can be only one!" roared Slayron.

"Does anything you say make sense in context?' asked Paladin. The two continued to clash swords. After a few blows, Paladin noticed something: Slayron was doing the same few moves over and over, in a seemingly endless loop. Seeing this, Paladin knew what to do. He countered the next attack, and knocked Slayron on his back.

"I do not understand," Slayron moaned. "How could you have bested me?"

Paladin leaned on his sword, then said, "I know when shows and movies loop footage. It's very unprofessional. Now, if you and your friends would kindly bow out of this fight, we have bigger fish to fry."

"I know the one you refer to," Slayron stated. "For it was he who sent us!"

Paladin's eyes widened. "Who is it? Tell me!" he demanded.

"I believe the master called him…Phantasmo," Slayron answered.

Paladin gasped.

"I'm telling you! The answer to our trade inadequacy is tariffs! _Tariffs!_ " cried Cyborg. "If we don't have any, the other nations will walk right over us! We can't afford any more of that!"

"That's where you're wrong, my robotic friend," snorted Anderson Cooper. "Don't you see? If the government sets the tariff rates are too high, we will scare other nations away from trading with us. Therefore, we will be alienated from the rest of the nations. Have you learned nothing from history?"

"You are just impossible, man!" growled Cyborg. "When will you get these simple facts through your head?!"

"When you clear out that library of ignorance that you call a brain," scoffed Anderson Cooper. Enraged, Cyborg stormed over to Anderson Cooper, and looked him in the eye. His towering presence struck fear into Anderson Cooper. Cyborg raised his arm, causing Anderson Cooper to tremble profusely. In a lightning fast move, Cyborg flicked Anderson Cooper's glasses off of his face. "I surrender!" cried Anderson Cooper, shooting his hands up in the air.

Skeleman held aloft his staff, and shot a barrage of thunderbolts at Chaos and Raven. The two evaded, and ran towards the attacker. Raven held out her hand, and called out, " _Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos_!" three nearby garbage cans became surrounded with a black field of energy, and flew right at Skeleman. The first hit, but he evaded the other two. In the heat of the evasion, Skeleman accidently let go of his staff, causing it to fall to the ground, and roll away.

"Not my staff! I need that!" cried Skeleman.

"Not the best villain dialogue, eh?" asked Chaos.

"I guess not," chuckled Raven. Skeleman ran over to the staff, and was about to grab it.

"I don't think so, bud!" shouted Chaos. He plunged his hands to the ground, and began to clench them, while they were lying as flat as possible. Instantly, Skeleman fell to the ground, unable to get up. He was struggling with all of his might, but could not get up. It was as if he was glued to the ground.

"How did you do that?" asked Raven, intrigued.

"My gloves control gravity, so long as the touch the ground, Chaos explained, straining a bit. "Now go! Get the staff!" Raven bolted to the staff, and picked it up.

Seeing this, Skeleman let out a loud shriek. "Noooooooooooo! This cannot be!"

"It be," chuckled Chaos.

"Release me this instant!" Skeleman demanded.

"As you wish," Chaos said, coyly. He loosened his grip on the ground, and Skeleman began floating in the air.

"This is not what I wanted!" he shrieked.

"Talk about being indecisive," Chaos scoffed. "Do you want gravity, or no gravity?"

"Gravity!" Skeleman began. "But I…"

"If you insist," Chaos smirked. He tightened his grip, and Skeleman plummeted to the ground again. With what little strength he could muster, Skeleman looked over to Raven, who was holding his staff.

"Don't do it!" he waited.

Raven turned to him, shook her head, then called out, " _Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos_!" The staff became covered with black energy, and it swung onto the ground, causing it to shatter.

"I think we got the dud, here," Chaos sighed.

"I'm not so sure," said Raven. "I'd say that the dud is probably Anderson Cooper."

"Wait! This isn't Anderson Cooper?" Chaos hollered, pretending to be surprised. Raven let out a chuckle in response.

Annoyed, Skeleman called out, "I am not Anderson Cooper! I am Skeleman the mighty! And I shall…" Before he could finish his boastings, Raven used her powers to fill his mouth with the remains of the staff.

"I thought they said dead men tell no tales," said Raven.

"Hey! You're pretty good at this!" beamed Chaos. Raven turned away, and blushed a little. Seconds later, her eyes darted over to Starfire, who appeared to have seen the whole thing. She was smiling from ear to ear, and gave Raven a 'go on' motion.

"No! My army!" wailed Control Freak. "What kind of cut-rate show is this?!"

"Ours!" cried Robin. "Now, it's time to change your channel!"

"Good ol' Robin!" Control Freak laughed. "Always cornier than the state of Iowa. No matter. My army may be finished off, but I'm not! I've still got my secret weapon! Control Freak pushed a large red button on his remote, and it transformed into what looked like a video game controller. "These days, TV isn't enough." he continued. "Now, I've dipped into the wonderful world of video games!"

"This is why I fear for this next generation," Raven moaned.

Control Freak moved the joystick on the controller, and aggressively mashed the buttons. As he did, his defeated army melted down into a pool of sky-blue liquid. As Control Freak fiddled around with the controller, the pool began to take shape. He looked at the Titans, flashed a devious smile, and slammed the start button. When he did, a blinding ray of light came from the liquid pile. It passed, and a giant Godzilla-esq monster was standing where the pile was.

"Check out my new toy!" Shouted Control Freak.

"This guy really upped his game!' Cyborg exclaimed.

"He didn't up it himself! Phantasmo did it for him!" cried Paladin.

"What makes you so sure?" asked Starfire.

"The knight told me," said Paladin.

"Come on! Let's get him!" ordered Robin. Much to Control Freak's surprise, the Titans turned around, and attacked him, _not_ the monster.

"Oh blarg it!" cried Control Freak. He nervously tapped a few buttons, causing the monster to slide in front of the Titans.

"En garde!" shouted Paladin, as he unsheathed his sword. He charged at the monster, and struck it in the leg. It roared in pain, and swung its tail at him. Starfire and Raven flew up to the monster's head, and proceeded to unleash a barrage of starbolts and miscellaneous projectiles.

"Time to bring down the house!" bellowed Chaos. He slammed his hands on the ground, and down went the monster! It was stuck to the ground, hardly able to move. "Go get it!" yelled Chaos.

The monster's face was right in Chaos's direction, let out a roar, and out came a stream of fire. Seeing that Chaos needed her help. Raven swooped down to his level, and pushed him out of the way. The two had evaded the blast, but only by a hair.

"Are you ok?" Raven panted.

"Just fine," replied Chaos. "Thanks for saving me."

"Happy to help," said Raven. Raven and Chaos became silent for several seconds.

Then, a voice bellowed out, "Hey, you two! We could use some help here!" it was Cyborg, regained their focus, and realized their position: Raven was laying on top of Chaos, and the two were looking into each other's eyes. Feeling awkward, the two sprang up, and rejoined the fight.

Beast boy had transformed into a gorilla, and was laying on hit after hit on the monster's leg, Starfire was continuing to pelt it with starbolts, Robin and Paladin were sneaking in blows, and Cyborg was running at its tail.

"Hold still, lizard boy!" Cyborg called out. He then grabbed a hold of the tail, and proceeded to climb up. The monster swung its tail around, trying to get off. Cyborg was holding on for dear life. Slowly but surely, he was making his way up.

" _Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos_!" cried Raven. She used the energy to grab ahold of the monster's tail, and held it still.

"Thanks, Raven!" Cyborg shouted, not looking back. He climbed up to the top of the tail, and began climbing the back spines to get to the head.

"Can you go a little faster?" asked Raven, straining from the pressure. "I don't know how much longer I can hold on!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Cyborg yelled.

"What are you trying to do" asked Robin.

"You'll see!" shouted Cyborg.

"That's it! Game over!" hissed Control Freak. "This was supposed to be a fun trap, but I'm not having fun! The deal's off!" The moment Control Freak finished speaking, the monster disappeared, causing Cyborg to plummet towards the ground.

"Chaos! Gravity!" yelled Robin.

"You got it!" Chaos boomed. He slammed his hands on the ground with a loose grip, and looked up at Cyborg. Just as Cyborg was about to hit the ground, the gravity beneath his disappeared.

"Boo-yah!" he cried. Chaos then took his hands off the ground, causing Cyborg to reach the ground safely.

The brief period of triumph was interrupted by a loud scream. The Titans turned back to see Control Freak on the ground, screaming and writhing in pain.

"You were right!" shouted Beast Boy. "It's Phantasmo again!"

"Figures," muttered Raven.

Robin ran to Control Freak, and knelt down beside him. "Hang in there! You're going to be alright," he said.

Paladin held his sword up. 'Show yourself!" he shouted. "I know you're around here."

"Relax, man," said Chaos, putting his hand on Paladin's shoulder. "It's daytime. He cannot reveal himself during the daytime." Paladin said nothing, and narrowed his gaze.

"Are you alright?" Robin asked.

"I'll be fine," said Control Freak.

"Why did you make the deal?" Chaos prodded.

"It sounded like a good idea," Control Freak whimpered.

"How is it a good idea to sell your body for a few cheap thrills?" Cyborg wondered.

"H-he didn't want my body," Control Freak stuttered, nervously. This caught Paladin's attention. He charged over to Control Freak, and stood over him.

"What did he want?' he asked impatiently.

As Control Freak was about to answerer, three little white balls landed in his mouth. Everyone looked over to see Irving leaping out of the shadows.

"Ah-ha! Gotcha!" he laughed.

"What do you think you're doing?" yelled Paladin.

"Well, I'm showing you that I can handle myself," Irving explained. "When you left me out to dry last night, I realized that I needed to fend for myself. So, now I'm easing your consciences! You were right! I'll be just fine! My smoke bombs will do just fine!"

"Smoke bombs?!" wailed Control Freak.

"Oh, yes," said Irving, slightly worried. "You might want to spit those out."

Control Freak did as he was told. The three smoke bombs hit the ground, and exploded in a cloud of thick, white fog.

"What the heck, man?!" Beat Boy yelled.

"I told you, they go off at random times. It's not my fault," Irving stated.

"Maybe not," said Cyborg. "But it is your fault for butting in,"

The smoke cleared, and Irving nervously took a few steps back.

"I'm sorry," sighed Irving. "I must be honest. That's not the only reason I came down here." He looked both ways, then leaned close. With a hushed whisper, he continued. "Phantasmo came back last night. He was asking me to make another deal."

Upon hearing this, Paladin thrusted himself in front of the group. "What was the deal?" he probed.

"Anything!" Irving responded. "He offered me anything I wanted, as long as I lured you guys down here. He'd not only give me my magic, but gold, jewels, piles of cash, you name it! It was awfully tempting. But in the end, you guys gave me mercy, so I decided to do the same to you. This made him very angry. And I'll bet that's why he went and struck a deal with chubby, there. For whatever reason, he wants you here."

"He didn't even ask for your body?" asked Chaos.

"Not once!" cried Irving. "What do you think that means?"

Robin looked to the others. "I think that it means that we have work to do tonight."

"Good," said Paladin, raising his sword slightly. "Now we can get back to more pressing matters."

"Does this mean that I don't have to go to jail?" wondered Control Freak, half-jokingly. The others stared blankly at him. "Yeah, I thought so," Control Freak sighed.

Robin signaled for the team to circle up. Once they did, he began relaying battle plans. "According to Paladin, Phantasmo is weakened by positive emotions, and large quantities of light. Sunlight more, but any abundance will do. If we can harness these when we find him, we'll be able to subdue him."

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Raven asked.

"Simple," Robin replied. "When he is near, we need to corner him with positive emotions, and shower him in light and warm feelings. He'll fade away, and retreat."

"I do not understand," Starfire chimed in. "If he just retreats, will he not simply come back, create more strife?"

"The only way to kill him is to kill his host body," said Paladin. "And I don't think anyone here is going to give him their body."

"Hey now!" cried Cyborg. "The Teen Titans never kill their enemies! Even if they are Satan-spawns."

"I stand with them on this," Chaos shrugged.

Robin continued. "In order for a more effective strike, we're going to need large groups. I say we divide into one group of three, and one group of four."

"Raven and I can be a group!" Starfire shouted, putting her arm around Raven.

"You're touching me," Raven whimpered.

"That's two. You need two more," said Robin.

Starfire looked mischievously at Raven. Raven immediately knew what she was about to do. Before she could object, Starfire shouted…

"Chaos! You must join our group!"

Chaos looked at Raven, and gave a little smile. "Sounds like a plan," he said.

"Oh no," muttered Raven, putting her hand on her face.

"I'll go with you guys!" Beast Boy chimed in.

"That is wonderful!" Starfire exclaimed.

"I figured you needed some help, Starfire. You know, considering that you seem unable to count to four." In response, Starfire's face drooped.

"I guess that's Paladin, Robin, and me!" Cyborg beamed.

"What about me?" Irving asked.

"What _about_ you?" Raven replied.

"Come on! Let me help!" Irving begged. "Please! I won't be too much trouble."

"Fine," Robin relented. "It'd be best to keep an eye on you, anyways. Beast Boy, go with Irving."

"Seriously?!" cried Beast Boy.

"Is it any wonder why you're my favorite," Irving growled sarcastically.

"No, no, no! Don't get me wrong! You're a good guy. It's just that if I have to hear any more of your whining, I'm going to jump in a meat grinder!"

"Very well," Irving sighed. "I guess I'll bottle up my struggles, and begin to release them in unhealthy ways again."

"That's more like it," Beast Boy responded. "Now come on! Let's get searching!" Beast Boy began to walk away, but was stopped by Paladin.

"Notice something wrong, Beast Boy?" he asked. "It's not night yet. He won't be here until night."

"You just got to wait another hour, BB," Cyborg explained. "Then you can go all Rambo on him."

"An hour?!" wailed Beast Boy. What are we supposed to do until then?!"

"Don't forget, Beast Boy," Robin chimed in gesturing to Control Freak. "We still have to take out the trash,"

"I am _not_ trash!" Control Freak screeched.

"You sure smell like it," Chaos jeered.

During the next hour, Control Freak was taken to prison, and the Titans divided into their groups, and were preparing for their impending confrontation with Phantasmo. There was a sense of energy in the air. Everyone was alert, as they knew that he could be anywhere. Raven was sitting on a dock, at the bayside. Thoughts about the past couple days were coursing through her mind. No matter what she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about Chaos, and how she felt about him.

"Hi, Raven!" Starfire beamed, startling Raven.

"Don't do that!" Raven barked.

"I am sorry!" Starfire yelped. "I am just so happy!"

"Happy that we're fighting Phantasmo, right?" Raven wondered.

"No!" Starfire replied. "I'm talking about your thing with Chaos!"

Raven's head perked up. "Thing? What thing?" she asked frantically.

Starfire sat down next to Raven. "Do not pretend that I do not know," she smiled. "I saw how you two interacted during the fight. I think it's sweet! Someone as cold and distant as you has finally found love!" Starfire glanced at Raven, and saw that she was giving her a harsh glare. "I hope that was not as insulting as that sounded," Starfire chuckled.

"Fine," Raven sighed. "I guess I like him." Starfire opened her mouth to comment, but Raven continued before she could get anything out. "I'm doing my best to come to terms with that."

"Coming to terms?" Starfire asked, confused. "What is there to come to terms with about love?"

Raven lowered her head, then answered. "Do you remember Malchior?"

"The name sounds familiar," Starfire nodded.

Raven took a deep breath, then explained, "A few years ago, there was that wizard who was trapped in that book I was reading. His charm won me over, and I…started to fall for him. He taught me new types of magic, and helped me feel better about myself. Sometime later, I released him from the book, only to find out that he was not who he said he was at all. He was the monster, not the hero. He used me. Just my luck. The first time I ever felt that way about someone, and he turned out to be evil."

"What does this have to do with Chaos?" Starfire prodded.

"I know he's sweet, and I know that he's nice," Raven continued. "But Malchior left his mark. I don't want that to ever happen again. I don't think I could take another heartbreak."

"Please, Raven," said Starfire, comfortingly. "You cannot let the past control how you live in the present. Yes, your previous experience here has been hard. However, this does not mean that the next one will end up the same way. Just give him a chance."

"I don't know," Raven moaned. "I just need to think about it for a little longer." Starfire looked up, and saw that the sun was almost gone. Night was upon them. She looked down at Raven, giving her an assuring look. "I'll try not to take too long," Raven said. Starfire smiled, then turned to leave. She saw Chaos coming onto the dock. Wanting to give Raven her space, she flew over to Chaos, waving her arms frantically.

"No! Do not come any closer!" she cried.

"What's the matter, Starfire?" Chaos asked. "I just want to talk to Raven…"

"You cannot do that," Starfire explained. "She needs her space right now."

"Is everything ok?" Chaos asked, worried.

Starfire looked back at Raven, then back at Chaos. "She is working some things out right now," she noted.

"Maybe I can help," said Chaos. He tried to walk passed Starfire, but she jumped in front of him, blocking his path.

"She cannot see you right now! Her issues must be resolved by her alone," Starfire exclaimed. She put her hands on her shoulders, then continued. This time, speaking softly. "It is best that you give her some space. We can hunt for Phantasmo in just a few moments. She will catch up."

Dejected, Chaos nodded his head, and walked away. As he left the dock, his mind became flooded with questions. What was wrong with Raven? Was there anything he could do to help her? Was it his fault? Chaos approached a tall building. He put his hands on the ground, and loosened gravity under his feet. Then- _BAM_! He slammed his fists down, and sent himself up to the top of the building. From there, he could see everything. The factories, the shops, the people, and of course, the dock where Raven was sitting. Chaos stood there by the edge of the roof, pondering the situation. The longer he thought about it, the more nervous he became. The moment that the night sky was in full view, a foul smell permeated the air, and was accompanied by an aura of negative emotions. Chaos immediately knew the cause of this. He turned around, and saw none other than Phantasmo.

"I felt your sorrow, and I knew I had to come," he sneered.

Chaos nervously backed up, and shouted, "You keep away from me!"

"Hold on now," Phantasmo hummed, his eyes growing wide. "I am just here to work something out with you."

"There is no way that I will make a deal with you, you demon!" Chaos shouted. "Now leave me alone!"

"Let's not play games, here," Phantasmo hummed. "Come on…Trevor. You and Matt have been playing this chase game with me for so long now. We know each other well enough to share our feelings with each other. Don't you think so?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Chaos muttered, not looking away from the view. "And your feelings are none of your business. Yes, I am unhappy. There's no use hiding that. You already know it, but I'm not going to let you profit off of it."

Undeterred, Phantasmo walked next to Chaos, who winced from the smell. "Woe is you. Your above average life is under fire from teenage drama," he growled. "I have an idea. Why don't you take a dull, rusty knife, and hack it into your arm? Twist it around a little. Get it nice and deep. When you are done, slowly slide it out, and watch the blood seep out. Drip-drop, drip-drop. Little by little, your life force drains away, passing through your torn veins, and shattered skin. As you do, you shall be left with two kinds of pain. There is physical pain from the gaping wound, and the loss of blood. Then, there is mental pain from knowing that you caused this travesty to yourself, and that no matter how much you scream, pray, and panic, there is no going back. All you can do is slowly watch yourself waste away. Your last moments are filled with pain and regret. Do that, and you will know half of the pain that I feel every waking moment of my meaningless existence. You see, Trevor, I live in a world where nothing exists. Nothing…except ceaseless agony. Every day, every hour, every second, I feel nothing but torment. All I know is pain. Truly, I don't fear hell. In this condition, I feel like I am already there."

"If you don't fear hell, why are you so scared of death?" Chaos scoffed, not looking over.

"Things may be bad now, but there's always a way to make it better," Phantasmo replied. "This is the case for both me, and you. And I believe we can help each other out."

Chaos began to storm away. "Forget it!" he yelled. "You don't have anything I want."

Phantasmo laughed. " _I_ don't, but _she_ does." This made Chaos stop dead in his tracks. His face became plastered with stunned surprise. Phantasmo smiled. He knew he had Chaos right where he wanted him. "I thought that would get your attention."

"I-I-I don't know what y-you're talking about," Chaos stammered.

"Don't lie to me," Phantasmo howled. "I know more than you realize. I see more than you realize. Not a moment goes by where you do not think of her. Just the sound of her name makes you swoon. _Raven_. You seek nothing more than to make her happy. And clearly, you have not done a very good job at that."

Chaos walked over to Phantasmo. "What are you getting at? Tell me right now!" he demanded.

"Very well," Phantasmo sighed. "I am willing to help you with this Raven issue. Clearly, she is experiencing some kind of mental anguish. I will use my powers to ease her mind. Whatever she is upset about, I will give her the power to overcome it. Then, and only then, will she be happy. As for me, well…you know what I want in return." He stroked his long, ravaged finger along Chaos's neck.

Chaos, in turn, pulled back. "I can't!" he shouted.

"Don't worry," Phantasmo said, jumping in front of Chaos. "I am willing to tip the scales in your favor. In exchange for helping your lady down there, I will have your body for only one hour."

Chaos looked up, slightly confused. "Just one hour?" he asked.

"Indeed," Phantasmo answered. "Now, it's up to you. Think with your heart, here. The girl you love is going through a rough patch, and there is only one thing you can do to help her. What better way to show her that you care than to help her in her time of need? With a mere wave of my hand, I can banish the thoughts that plague her. You can allow me to do this, or sit back, and watch the one you hold so dear suffer. The choice is yours. All I ask is for one hour of your life. A mere sixty minutes. Tell me. What is it that you want?"

Chaos thought it over for a few seconds. "Could there possibly be any tricks up Phantasmo's sleeve?" He thought. "He can only make a deal with exactly what he promised. No more, no less. And only for an hour." Phantasmo was leaning close, waiting for an answer. "I just want Raven to be happy," Chaos shuddered.

Phantasmo smiled, exposing his rotten, mangled teeth. "You are a good man," he beamed. He extended his hand. Chaos slowly reached out, and wrapped his hand around Phantasmo's. Through the glove, he could feel the crisp, dead flesh and gaping wounds. The two looked in each other's eyes, and shook their heads. As they did, their hands became engulfed in a chain made of red fire. It spiraled around their hands, but neither could feel anything more than a slight increase in heat. Phantasmo released Chaos's hand, and walked towards the edge of the roof.

"Where are you going? Don't you want the body?" Chaos asked.

"Not yet," Phantasmo answered, "First, I want to make good on my deal." With that, Phantasmo disappeared in the blink of an eye. Chaos was left there alone, wondering if he had made the right choice. He knew that whether or not he did, he needed to see Raven.

Meanwhile, Raven was still sitting on the dock, thinking things over. She repeated the same thoughts over and over, not reaching any substantial conclusions. Perhaps it was because she was lost in thought, or because she had detached her emotions during this process, but for one reason or another, she failed to notice Phantasmo approaching her. He held out his left hand, and made a swirling motion with his right. As he did, a small pile of crimson dust began to accumulate in his palm. Once the pile was about five inches tall, he inched closer to Raven. His eyes narrowed, locking in on his target. With one swing of the arm, he hurled the wad of dust directly at Raven. Suddenly, she was hit with a blinding red cloud. Raven fell back in shock. Her eyes darted around the area, looking for the cause of this. However, she found nothing. As the dark, cold dust fell onto her, her worries seemed to disappear. It was as if the weight of the world was lifted off of her shoulders.

"Raven! We must get going!" Starfire cried. Raven saw Starfire and Chaos walking onto the dock.

Raven ran over towards them, and said, "I think I'm ready to get looking now," She looked at Chaos, and smiled.

Chaos smiled in return. "I take it that everything is…" Before he could finish, Raven ran up, and hugged him, smiling from ear to ear. Chaos was taken aback at first, then smiled himself. Starfire was silently cheering behind them. Moments later, Raven released her grip, turning red in the face.

"Sorry," Raven sighed. "I was just doing some thinking. You know, about us, and if we could…"

"Hold on a moment," Chaos said. "That's what you were thinking about this whole time? Us?"

"Yes. Why?" Raven replied, growing increasingly more nervous.

"No, no. It's fine," Chaos assured her. "In fact…if you're implying what I think you're implying, I feel the same way. I just…I was…never mind." He looked into her eyes, and asked, "We are on the same page, right?" Raven nodded, and the two hugged again. While doing so, Chaos's joy began to turn to dread. Now that he got what he wanted, Phantasmo could claim what he wanted whenever he wanted.

"…and that's why I don't see my daughter anymore," Irving sighed.

" _I know_!" Beast Boy shrieked. "You told me that story last time! Hey, I've got a question for you."

"What's that?" asked Irving.

"How much does it cost for a lock for an emotional floodgate?" Beast Boy growled.

"Excuse me for showing vulnerability!" Irving snapped.

"Look, I'm sorry," Beast Boy said. "It's just that it's too much. Please tone it back."

"Alright, fine," Irving huffed. "I just don't get to talk about this stuff to anyone."

"I don't want to be rude or anything, but why are you here?" Beast Boy prodded.

"I've been doing a little thinking," Irving explained. "My near death experience with Phantasmo made me see that I've been living my life all wrong. Remember when I said my life was flashing before my eyes? I really meant it. All I saw was sixty-three wasted years, with nothing to show for it but negligence and greed. Well, now's the time to turn it around! Now's the time to start doing the right thing!" Beast Boy was stunned. He didn't know what to say. He looked into Irving's eyes, and saw nothing but genuine emotion. Immediately he knew that this time, things would be different.

At the other edge of the city, Robin, Cyborg, and Paladin were continuing their search. Robin was leading the group, communicator in hand. Cyborg and Paladin were picking up the rear. Cyborg had his shoulder light equipped, and Paladin was holding his blade. His face was stern, and unmoving.

"Thirty minutes, and no sign of him yet," Robin noted.

"He's around here somewhere!" Paladin cried. "We need to find him, and we can't stop until we do!"

"Chill, man," Cyborg said. "We're not going to give up because we can't find him in a short amount of time."

"Good," Paladin grunted. "Once we find him, we finish this. Our three year battle will finally end." Robin and Cyborg stopped walking. They looked at each other with concerned looks on their faces. Paladin noticed that they had stopped, then growled, "Let's go. We don't have all night."

"Alright, bro," Cyborg said bluntly. "No more beating around the bush. Time to talk."

"You need to tell us why you're acting so frantic," Robin added. "And don't say that you're just being dramatic. You're easier to see through than saran wrap."

Paladin shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Without warning, Phantasmo shot up from the ground. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was slightly agape. "I do," he howled. "Shall I tell them, or shall I tell you?"

"You!" Paladin shouted. "Surrender yourself now, or face permanent defeat!"

"Such poor manners you have, Matthew," Phantasmo scoffed. "Is that the way that daddy raised you?" Enraged, Paladin charged at Phantasmo, and swung his sword at his neck. However, he ran right through him, and fell to the ground. Phantasmo looked down, shaking his head. "Pity, pity," he sneered. "Three years later, and your temperament has only gotten worse."

"Hey, Spooky!" Cyborg shouted. "Mind if I shed a little light on this situation?" he shined his light at Phantasmo, who in turn, sank back into the ground.

"So be it," he said. "If you want to play rough, I can play rough. I just need to grab something first."

"You get back here, you coward!" Paladin shouted, holding his sword high above his head. He saw that Robin and Cyborg were giving him irritated looks. "Fine, I'll talk," he said. "Three years ago, my family was having a hard time. We were living paycheck to paycheck, barely making it through the week. This is when Phantasmo found my dad. He was drawn to his fear, and shame. He offered to make sure that my family never wanted for anything ever again, in exchange for his body. After a heated debate, he accepted, and his body was Phantasmo's forever. Yes, the family was safe, but for what? Losing the most important person to us? Even then, it didn't last. Phantasmo was caught doing some kind of illegal activity downtown. Long story short, there was a shootout, and my dad died. Phantasmo, however, survived. Phantasmo can only enter and leave a body if the previous owner wishes it. If they want him in, he stays. I suppose my dad changed his mind, as Phantasmo escaped, leaving him to die. Since that day, I have vowed to get my revenge on Phantasmo. Nothing would stand in my way! Nothing!"

Robin and Cyborg said nothing. They just looked back at Paladin, a strong sense of sympathy came over them. "Paladin," Robin began. "We understand that he took a lot away from you, but this unbridled rage is only going to hurt you. It will only build. Eventually, it's going to make you do something that you will regret for the rest of your life. Trust me, I know the feeling."

"I shouldn't have said anything," Paladin sighed. Suddenly, Beast Boy, Irving, Starfire, Raven, and Chaos all came running in from all corners of the street.

"Hey! What's up guys?!" Beast Boy shouted. "Any luck?"

"Nothing on our side," Starfire answered.

"Nothing with us either," Irving added.

"We had a little run in," Cyborg chimed in. "But now, he took off."

"Actually, he never left!" Phantasmo's voice rang out. Everyone looked around, but could not see him. The air grew cold, and all nearby plant life slowly withered away. Phantasmo sprang out from the ground, and walked close to Chaos. "I'm just coming to claim something that was promised."

"Don't tell me you made a deal with him!" Paladin shouted.

"I'm sorry," Chaos huffed. "I had to."

"No, you didn't!" Paladin barked. "You never have to make a deal with him! He can't force you!"

"The heart wants what it wants, Matthew," Phantasmo taunted. "I just saw a need, and I filled it."

"Hold on a minute," Raven ordered. "What does he mean by that?" She looked at Chaos, who looked at her with sorrow in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I did whatever I could to make you happy again,"

"I knew you'd compromise our mission for her," Paladin chuckled, awkwardly.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "This was a thing?!"

"You have much to learn," Starfire whispered.

"The red dust!" Raven gasped. "That was you?"

"Actually, it was me," Phantasmo explained. "I did my part in ending your fear of future romantic commitment. Now, it's time to have him enact his part of the deal."

Chaos hung his head, and raised his arms. "Remember, just one hour," he said.

"And what an hour it will be!" Phantasmo cackled.

"Wait, kid!" Irving said frantically. "You don't have to do this."

"You stay out of this!" Phantasmo roared. He snapped his fingers, and Chaos began to surge with red lightning. His breath was frantic, and painful. The whites of his eyes slowly turned red, and his mouth started to hang open. "Now," he grinned, "It's time for me to feel alive again." Phantasmo put his hand on Chaos's forehead, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Chaos fell to the ground, breathing deeply. Raven dove over to help him, but was stopped by Paladin.

"Don't do it," Paladin warned. "He's not himself anymore."

Phantasmo, now in Chaos's body, rose to his feet. He felt his face, and let out a sensual sigh. "Finally!" he beamed, "The pain is gone! My body is whole! I am renewed! I am…alive!"

"Not for long!" Paladin roared. "Release his body this instant!"

"As convincing as that argument is, I'm going to have to refuse," Phantasmo jeered. "Now, let's see if I know how to do this." He thrusted his hands to the ground, and clenched his hands. He looked up, and saw Cyborg tumbled to the ground. He struggled, and he struggled, but he could not budge.

"Go get him!" Cyborg called out.

"Be careful, though," said Raven. "We don't want to hurt him,"

"He's not Chaos anymore," Paladin said. "But he will be, once we're done with him."

"Taste smoke, ghost!" Irving shouted. He tossed three smoke bombs at Phantasmo, but they just bounced off.

"Is that all you've got?" Phantasmo laughed.

"Stupid duds!" cried Irving, as he stomped his foot.

Beast Boy transformed into a squid, and lashed his tentacles at Phantasmo. Meanwhile, Starfire dove down, star bolts in hand. Phantasmo slammed his hands down, and Starfire collapsed.

"Look out, Beast Boy!" she called out. But it was too late. Starfire crashed into Beast Boy, knocking them both to the ground.

"Star, I don't meant to be rude, but how much do you weigh?" Beast Boy moaned.

"Heads up!" Cyborg shouted, as he kicked Phantasmo in the back. Phantasmo sprung to his feet, and dove right at him. The two were struggling against each other. Then-BAM! Robin came in, and tackled Phantasmo.

"Get out of him!" Robin ordered.

"What is it with your team and terrible armament points?" huffed Phantasmo. "I tell you, it really takes the fun away. Luckily, this doesn't." Phantasmo laid his hands out, and Robin began floating towards the sky.

"A little help here?" Robin called out. Starfire swooped in, and grabbed him. "Not the most confidence-building way, but at least I'm safe," he chuckled. Suddenly, the two of them dropped, and were pinned to the ground. Phantasmo lifted his hands up, and tackled Cyborg.

"Big mistake, there," Cyborg said, shaking his head. He activated his cannon and shot at Phantasmo.

"Ah, yes. The pain has returned," Phantasmo growled. He shot up, and began to run away. As he began to flee, Raven stepped out in front of him.

"Don't take another step," Raven demanded.

"Or what?" Phantasmo jeered. "You'll decapitate me? You'll pummel me? Do whatever you wish, Miss Raven. I just hope that you will be able to live with the fact that you just hurt the only man who ever truly loved you. Once I relinquish this body, you will have to deal with the consequences, and the never ending shame that you…"

As he was talking, Raven let out a distressed moan, and backed away. Phantasmo laughed a deep laugh, then continued to run. As he was a couple streets away, he saw Paladin running towards him.

"This has gone far enough!" Paladin shouted. "You may have taken my father, but I won't let you take my friend."

Phantasmo took a few steps forward, then said, "Please be reasonable, Matthew…"

"It's Paladin," Paladin responded. "Nobody ever calls me Matthew!"

"Very well," Phantasmo relented. "Perhaps the two of us can work something out."

"Never!" Paladin shouted. "My parents taught me to never make deals with demons…or tax attorneys!"

"They're basically the same thing," Phantasmo grinned. "Look here, boy. You reminded me of something. You went on this chase to avenge your father, correct? Well, what would you say if I could told you that I can bring him back?"

"I'd tell you a lot of things," Paladin growled. "But saying them would go against my Christian nature."

"Of course it would," Phantasmo cooed. "I am prepared to offer you the deal of a lifetime. I can restore your father's life. It will be as if he never left."

Paladin lowered his sword. His gritted his teeth, and sunk into his suit. "I can't," he whimpered.

"Is that what you call fighting for your family's honor?" Phantasmo hummed, his smile still intact. "Be a man, and fight for you family." Phantasmo began walking closer to Paladin and lowered his head. "If that isn't enough for you, I can sweeten our little deal. I will spare your friend any pain or anguish in my departure. You will be making the ultimate sacrifice. You give one life to save two. What more noble way to..?"

Before Phantasmo could finish speaking, Paladin kicked him, and shoved him to the ground. Phantasmo was about to strike back, but Paladin activated his sword blade, and held it to Phantasmo's neck. "Don't move!" he shouted. "You may have taken my father, but you won't take me! I've had it with your little games, Phantasmo! Tonight, we end this! Tonight, you re-unite with your old master!" The blade reached closer and closer to Phantasmo's neck. Phantasmo's face was ravaged with terror. All he could stand to do was look on in terror. Suddenly, the sword's blade was retracted. Phantasmo glanced up to see Paladin. _His_ face now fear-stricken. "What am I doing?' he moaned. "I almost just killed my friend."

Seeing his chance, Phantasmo ran off. "Come on! Let's get him!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"You guys wait here," said Irving. "I'll just need a minute with Paladin, here." The rest of the Titans chased after Phantasmo as Irving put his arm around Paladin. "You're going to be alright," he assured him.

"Have you almost killed your friend?!" Paladin cried. "Robin was right. This is going too far. What happened to the old Paladin? The one who would wisecrack alongside Chaos, and would love every minute of life? I guess he died the moment my dad did."

"That Paladin may be dead, but he doesn't have to stay dead," Irving explained. "I know it was hard, but you have to let it go. Letting these negative things control your life only leads to hardship like this. Be thankful that you didn't go further, though. I know what it's like."

The two were quiet for a while. They stood there, on the side of the road, in complete silence. Finally, Paladin said, "You're right, Irving." With a newfound sense of determination, Paladin shot up. "It's time to take action!" he proclaimed. "I've got to go! I need to right my wrongs!" Paladin dashed off into the distance, leaving Irving alone.

"I know the feeling, kid," Irving muttered, nodding his head.

Paladin found the other Titans battling Phantasmo. Phantasmo was rotating through the Titans, gravitating them to the ground one by one.

"Enough of this!" Robin shouted. "It's time to end these games!"

"I say we stop," Raven suggested. "He only gets the body for an hour. I say we wait it out. That way, Chaos doesn't end up getting hurt."

"I hate to say it," said Cyborg. "But that might be our only option. Our friend won't get hurt, and Phantasmo will leave him alone."

"What fun is that?" Phantasmo hissed. "Don't' just spoil our game like that." Phantasmo glanced over to Paladin. "Surely Paladin will talk some sense into you. Go ahead, my friend. Give into your bloodlust, and charge at me, sword in hand."

"Never," said Paladin. "I'm through being angry. I'm not going to let you play with my emotions anymore."

"Way to go, young Skywalker!' Beast Boy trumpeted.

Phantasmo's face soured. He glanced up to the Wells Fargo banking tower, and had an idea. "Very well," he grinned. "If you don't want to play my game, we can play a different one." He lightened the gravity beneath him, and slammed his fists down, propelling him to the top of the building.

"Follow him!" Robin ordered. Raven and Starfire flew to the top of the roof, and Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl, carrying Robin along with him.

"I guess we have to take the stairs," Paladin smirked.

Cyborg turned to Paladin, and stared blankly. "You're not used to this whole joking thing, are you?" he asked bluntly.

The Titans who made it to the roof saw Phantasmo walking towards the ledge. He leaped onto the guard wall, and turned to face them. Phantasmo removed Chaos's gloves, and threw them at Raven. "Here you are, my lady," he jeered. "Sniff them, and get happy."

"What do you think you're doing?" Raven growled.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm writing a new deal," Phantasmo said with a disturbingly happy tinge in his voice. "As we all know, I can't have this body forever. So, here's my offer: Somebody give me their body, or this one goes splat."

"You halagnorf!" Starfire shrieked.

"Starfire, watch your mouth!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"What are we going to do, Robin?" Raven asked nervously. Robin just stared at Phantasmo. His mind was busy with potential solutions.

"Make up your minds," Phantasmo huffed, no longer amused. "Either way, somebody dies tonight." Raven stepped forward, her fists clenched.

"Don't do it, Raven," Beast Boy begged. "Don't give him your body."

"I'm not," Raven replied.

"Just as well," Phantasmo said, rolling his eyes. "I didn't want to be a woman anyways. Now, do you have something to offer, or are you just wasting my time?"

Raven walked closer to Phantasmo. She put her hand on the side of his face, and stared directly into his eyes. She noticed that they looked soulless, and dead. There was no emotion in them at all. Nevertheless, Raven pressed onward. "I know you're still in there, Chaos," she said, her voice beginning to quiver. "Please, push through. You can do this. Do it for yourself. Do it for Paladin. Do it…for me."

Phantasmo began to wince. It started small, then continued to build. His breathing became deep and frantic. Sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall. Once this began, Cyborg, Paladin, and Irving arrived to the top of the roof.

"What's going on here?" asked Cyborg.

Paladin stroked his chin, then answered, "Positive emotion. Chaos's soul is still in there, and the feeling of love is burning Phantasmo's spirit."

"That's it. That's it," Raven prodded. "Fight him off. You're stronger than him."

"Enough!" Phantasmo roared. He shoved Raven to the ground, then panted aggressively. His eyes were so wide, that they were about the size of silver dollars. "So be it, then," he chuckled maniacally, "If you do not have anything to offer me, then I sure hope your boyfriend knows how to fly!" Phantasmo backed up so that only the front half of his feet were on the wall. One false step, and he would fall. Little by little, he was nearing the edge.

"Stop!" Irving shouted, running over to the ledge. He helped Raven to her feet, then turned to face Phantasmo. "Please, Phantasmo. I'll give you whatever you want, just don't kill him."

"What are you offering, old man?" Phantasmo scowled.

Irving hung his head. His heart was beating so hard, he felt like it was going to burst through his chest. Hesitation surged through his mind. Nevertheless, he powered through. "I am going to offer you my body," he whispered.

Phantasmo regained proper footing on the wall, and let out a sinister cackle. "Finally, a reasonable man has decided to crash the party," he beamed. "Of course, I cannot accept a body in the state that yours is in. Weak, frail, hopeless. That'll never do. But your magic form, now that would be divine."

"Yes, yes, whatever you want!" Irving bellowed. "Just leave the poor boy alone!" Phantasmo helped Irving onto the ledge, and scanned his body up and down.

"Why are you doing this, Mr. Irving?" Starfire wondered.

Irving turned to the group, and explained himself. "All my life, I have been in the wrong. From being a troublemaking brat, to a negligent father, to a maddening criminal. Never once have I actually been able to do something good. If I'm going to go out, it might as well be as a hero." He put his hand on his heart, hitting his shirt pocket in the progress. "Thank you for giving me another chance, everyone. And I'm sorry for the trouble I caused."

"You don't have to do this…" Robin started.

"Yes I do!" Irving exclaimed. He turned to Raven, then told her, "You two are going to make a good couple." With that, he grabbed Phantasmo's hand, and both of their arms were surrounded in red energy. A whirlwind spawned beneath Irving's body, and slowly morphed it back into Mumbo's. Moments later, _BANG_! The energy burst, and Phantasmo's spirit was flung out of Chaos's body, and into Irving's. Chaos's body fell off the ledge, and onto the roof itself. Phantasmo began feeling his new body, and testing its flexibility. Raven rushed over to Chaos's body as the rest of the Titans huddled behind her.

"Please don't be dead!" begged Raven. "I'm begging you! Please don't be dead!"

"Wake up, Chaos!" Beast Boy shouted.

"You can pull through, man," Paladin muttered. Raven leaned in close, putting her hand back on his cheek. Chaos began to stir, and his breathing became deeper.

"He's alive!" Raven exclaimed. Her excitement completely overshadowed her social insecurity. For once, she did not care about how the others viewed her. She propped Chaos's body up, and saw his eyes open. He looked at Raven, and smiled.

"I'm back," he croaked. Raven stood him up, and rushed into his arms.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" she demanded.

"I promise that I will think through things a bit more," Chaos replied. "I did this whole thing to prevent you from getting hurt. And I guess that I ended up doing the opposite. Raven, I will never hurt you like that again. Whatever it takes, I'm going to defend you, and fight for you." The two smiled widely, and looked into each other's eyes. Then, with no sense of inhibition, the two of them leaned in, and kissed. Starfire was doing her best to keep from squealing, Paladin was smiling from ear to ear, and the rest were stunned.

"That was…nice," Raven smiled.

"Yes, yes. It was beautiful!" Phantasmo moaned. "And what a fitting moment to be your last! Now, it's time to try out my new powers! Farewell, Titans! I shall remember you fondly!" Phantasmo waved his hand, and conjured Mumbo's wand. He held it high above his head, ready to cast a spell. Before he could say anything, his shirt pocket started to rumble. "What's in here?" he wondered.

Beast Boy gasped, then raised his fist in the air. "Smoke bombs!" he cheered. "Irving, you old genius!"

Phantasmo reached for the pocket, but the bombs exploded. The force was so strong, that it pushed him right off the ledge. The Titans rushed to the ledge, and saw Phantasmo plummeting towards the ground. "Release me from this body at one!" he wailed. "Release me, Irving! I command you!" But nothing happened. The next thing the Titans saw was Irving's body splatting on the ground. Nobody dared make a sound. Everyone was far too stunned to even move. Down below, people gathered around the ravaged course. Then, out of the wreckage, Phantasmo's spirit rose up. He looked dejected and ashamed.

"This cannot be happening," he whimpered. Then, it hit him: He was exposed to death! The one thing he truly feared, and it was happening to him. There was no escape. He knew that his number was up. Beneath the body, a red, swirling vortex emerged. "I'm not going to let this happen to me!" Phantasmo shrieked. "I avoided you for over one hundred fifty years! I can still avoid you!" Phantasmo started to run, but a giant red hand burst through the vortex, and grabbed Phantasmo. Although he struggled with all of his might, Phantasmo could not escape. He begged, he threatened, and he struggled, but nothing worked. In the blink of an eye, the hand sunk into the vortex, and disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

"Well, that's the end," Paladin sighed. "That's the end of Phantasmo. That beast is back where he belongs. But to be honest, this doesn't feel nearly as good as I imagined."

"We lost a good man today," Beast Boy added. "A good man that none of us even knew was good in the first place."

"I don't believe it," Robin sighed. "When I thought I had him pegged as just another nuisance."

"Where do you think Irving is going?" Beast Boy asked.

"Hard to say," Raven answered. "Maybe the devil will give him some mercy for returning Phantasmo to him."

"For his sake, I hope he does," Robin added.

"Definitely a night to remember, I suppose," Cyborg noted.

"I could not agree more," said Starfire, a smile slowly coming to her face. "Yes, this has been a very hard-fought battle, but you cannot deny that we prevailed in the end!" Starfire gestured to Raven and Chaos, then added, "Some of us have prevailed more than others, though."

"I hope this isn't a bad time to ask this," Chaos shuddered. "But now that this whole Phantasmo thing has been put to an end, what's next for us? We're kind of out of a job."

"You're hinting at something, aren't you?" Robin smirked.

"I think he's asking if we can join the Teen Titans full time," Paladin chuckled, nervously. "What do you say, Robin?"

Robin looked at Chaos, then at Raven, and back at Paladin. He smiled, and extended his hand to Paladin. "Welcome to the team," he smiled.

"We accept," Paladin said. "But I don't think shaking hands is very appropriate. You know, given what we've just been though."

"Right, right," Robin chuckled. "I should know that. Shouldn't I?"

"Well, Raven" Chaos jeered, "Looks like you're going to be stuck with me for a little while."

"I can live with that," Raven replied.

"Good luck, Raven," Paladin chuckled. "You're going to need it."

Chaos looked over at Paladin. "Good to have you back, buddy," he grinned.

"It's good to be back," Paladin beamed.

The Titans looked on at the moon, reflecting on the past few days. Friendships were made, love had begun, goals were met, and challenges were overcome. No matter what the future brings, they will be ready to face it together. They will fight for what is right, never backing down until the battle has been won. When there's trouble, you know who to call: The Teen Titans!

 _ **The End**_


End file.
